conversation on "your money." we're here every saturday, 1:00 p.m. eastern and sunday at 3:00 p.m. have a great weekend. you're in the "cnn newsroom." i'm gary tuchman in today for fredricka whitfield. the last war left 1,400 people dead. now four years later, israel and gaza could be on the brink of a second one. while the world calls for restraint from both. but does this look like either side is holding back? >> okay. [ bleep ] >> that was an air strike that hit gaza early this morning. palestinian tv channel based in gaza says 11 people so far today have died. part of the israeli offensive,

taking out the home of a hamas commander. israel defense forces say there was a stockpile of explosives in the house. they also said they blew up palestinian headquarters, and hamas for a second time in two days, hamas aimed a rocket toward one of israel's big cities, the biggest, tel aviv, but the rocket was intercepted. sarah sydnor is live in gaza city. it's 9:00 p.m. there, how are people surviving on this night? it must be at a standstill right now. >> it was very quiet up until seconds before you talked to me. we're hearing booms of air strakes. we have also seen just behind me, four rockets go up, one after the other, and about ten minutes before that, we saw very, very close to us, we could actually hear the sounds of the rockets leaving the rocket launcher right over our heads towards israel. we know the sirens went off in israel after we saw the rockets

here. so here it goes again. you can hear the booms now of air strikes. this is starting to start up again and it's not unusual that at night when it starts getting late here, this all starts to go full force. in the morning, about 4:00, 5:00, 6:00, and aven7:00 is whee hear the most air blasts and activity, but it sounds like it's going to be another one of those crazy nights here in gaza. the entire city pretty much shut down after the air strikes that hit the police headquarters and the hamas headquarters. thingvis have gotten quiet, bute also heard hamas was telling its workers, government workers, to go back to work tomorrow. i don't see that happening with all that's going on now. if it's the same as it was yesterday and the day before where things got very, very loud and very, very active during the night, i don't see that happening that people will be back in the streets and back

working as normal. >> it's 9:00, so it's relatively early in the night. a ground offensive we would assume, would come when things get worse. how does tonight so far compare with last night? >> it's about the same although we were hearing a lot more air strikes last night. what we have been hearing all day today, though, is the sound of drones overhead, literally for the past 20 or so hours. we heard the sound of the drone. it's really been consistent. usually what it means is israel is looking for where they're going to strike next, trying to find the yare craw they see weapons, for example. they've got equipment on those drones that's incredibly strong. they can see things very, very closely. and so usually those images are beamed back to someone in israel, and that's when they decide where it is they need to hit next. that's generally the procedure. so when we hear the drones all day, we're only assuming they're looking for areas they can

pinpoint target and this evening and late into the night, we may see the consequence of what the drones send back. >> i just commented that 11 people were killed in gaza. do you know the tally of those killed in israel and any idea how many rockets have been fired by hamas. ? hundreds of rockets have been fired from hamas. it's hard to keep up with to be honest with you because when one goes, sometimes there's a barrage of three, four. at least three people have been killed in israel. there have been six to ten people injured, and we're seeing images also from there of people ducking down, hunkering down. the fear is on their face. people crying, we know that an apartment building got hit a couple days ago and that's where the li people died. one person severely injures. we also know soldiers on the israeli side have been injured as well. people are scared on both sides

of the border. if you talk to people in gaza, for example, the families worry when they hear the drones, if they happen to be in a neighborhood where perhaps a hamas leader is or perhaps one of the other militants exists, you know, they could become a target, and they know that, and there have been many civilians who have been injured and killed in this offensive. we also know in israel, there's a terrible fear that the iron dome will miss some of the rockets, which it has, it's hit about lf of the rockets that have come over. and civilians are hoping that a cease fire will happen, that it's being worked on in the background. >> i'm getting ready to talk to a palestinian politician, very well known and i'm going to ask her if she thinks anything can be done to avoid an all-out war with israel. israel says it is mobilizing as many as 30,000 troops along the israel/gaza border.

cnn's fred is watching the build up. >> we're in an area close to gaza. what you see behind me is the forward position from the israeli defense forces. this is a reconnaissance defense unit keeping an eye on the gaza strip. the guys have set up close to a line of trees. one of the reasons for that is they fear they could take fire from gaza. in the past several days several targets outside the gaza strip have been hit by targets and anti-tank missiles including a patrol of the israeli defense forces. the sign that the israeli defense forces are amassing troops and hardware near the border can be seen in many places, for instance, here, we see one of the collection points near the border area where they're collecting armors personnel carriers, bulldozers and tanks as well. we have been to several of these places in this area and in all of them, you could see a lot of movement going on. we also know that israeli

defense forces have called in tens of thousands of reserves which are what many people believe could be leading to a ground offensive in the coming days or coming weeks. however, a spokes person for the defense ministry was not willing to say there's a timeline for when such an offensive could begin. >> i don't want to go into precise military strategy on television, however it's a possible. it's an option being seriously considered to restore the calm to the south. >> the operation in gaza is continuing at a high pace. however, they also say they're willing and capable and to put their foot more on the gas and increase the scope of the operations. >> thank you very much, fred. the arab league is holding an emergency session in cairo, ejiment, to discuss the gaza/israel conflict. they say the bloc should review the peace proposals to israel and its entire stance on the peace process in response to the

conflict in gaza. >> protesters have taken to the streets in arab countries to show their solidarity to palestinians in gaza. tens of thousands of protesters filled the streets in egypt's capital. protesters in the nation of turkey set an israeli flag on fire, also a photo of benjamin netanyahu during a demonstration last evening. president obama makes history this weekend with a three-nation tour of asia. the president is on his way to thailand right now, but it are rr the second leg of the trip that makes it historic, he's visiting myanmar. he wraps up his oversees trip in cambodia. he'll attend the east asia summit before returning to the united states on wednesday. >> rescue planes are still searching for two crew members missing after an oil rig exploding in the gulf of mexico. at least 11 people were injured

in the gas. a very small amount of fuel, 28 gallons spilled in the water. the fire is out but federal authorities are investigating the incident. nfl icon mike ditka is recovering from a stroke. espn said the former chicago bears super bowl coach, he won the super bowl in '86, suffered a stroke on friday. ditka, who is an analyst for espn told a local chicago paper, quote, i feel good right now, and it's not a big deal. leave it to mike. espn expects him to return to broadcasts soon. >> if you were at the edge of a cliff and you could save yourself from going over it, what would you do? america, our nation, is at that point, and it's up to these players to prevent us from going over a $7 trillion fiscal cliff. i'm back to talk about it with robert reich in the cnn newsroom. now, here's one that will make you feel alive.

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get selsun blue for itchy dry scalp. strong itch-fighters target scalp itch while 5 moisturizers leave hair healthy. selsun blue. got a clue? get the blue. the clock is ticking, and americans are wondering if the country will go over the fiscal cliff. will the talks at the white house yesterday between the president and leaders of congress result in a real deal? a lot is at stake for millions of people. 310 million to be precise. spending will be cut and tax cuts will expire this january 1st. the change s add up to $7 trillion over the next ten years. it will push millions of people into a higher tax bracket. if the payroll holiday tax expires, it will raise taxes on earnings and if the unemployment extension expires, people will

have less time to file for benefits. here to talk about it is robert reich. thank you for joining us. >> hi, gary. >> how likely is it we will go over this figurative cliff? do you think a deal can and will be reached? >> a deal can be reached, whether it will be reached is a question mark. there isn't much time remaining, and it is a lame-duck crisis, and anyone thinking this lame duck congress is going to easily strike a deal doesn't know much about congress or ducks. >> earlier this week, warren buffett shrugged off the impact of going over the cliff, which was interesting, during an interview with my colleague, poppy harlow. >> i think if we go past jun 1st, i don't know if it's january 10th or february 1st, but we're not going to permanently cripple ourselves because 535 people can't get along. >> even if we go over for two

months, buzz that dip this economy back into a recession? >> i don't think so. >> after all your experience working in the white house and wondering, do you believe it's possible buffett was signaling that the president might be willing to go to the brink, to go over the fiscal cliff, as part of a grand taxes and entitlement bargain? >> maybe. there are two ways in which the fiscal cliff can be avoided. way number one is if between now and january 1st, congress and the president decide to delay everything. delaid the tax increase that would come about because of the end of the bush tax cuts and delay spending cuts to a date, say march 15th, by which time they would have to come up with a grand bargain with respect to deficit reduction. that's possible. this congress and president have shown their ability to kick the can down the road and they could do it again. the second way is if they came

to a grand bargain on taxes and deficit reduction in late january or even february that was retroactive to jb 1st. if it's retroactive to january 1st and everybody knows it's likely to be retroactive to january 1st, it's not going to have the same effect on the economy, more like a hill. >> a fiscal mole hill. what areas can and should the president compromise, and if the gop asked, what areas should the gop and house compromise? >> the president has made it clear he won the election. therefore, because the election was fought very clearly over whether taxes have to be raised on the rich, he's going to hold out for a tax increase on the wealthy in this country. and he said it has to be at least $1.6 trillion over the next ten years. ee he also is quite adamant the bush tax cuts have to end for people earning over $250,000. now, beyond that, how much can

be done with regard to simply putting a limit on tax deductions and tax credits? how much can be done with regard to limiting spending, let's say military spending, a little more than was anticipating, or getting rid of some corporate welfare? i don't know. and we'll find out about that. could we means test medicare a little more? could we raise the percentage of income subjected to social security taxes which is now limited to $110,100? maybe. all of these things will be on the table, but we have to keep in mind that the table is not very large between now and january 1st. and that table is pretty rickety. all of these things will probably be on the table for a grand bargain after january 1st, but the question is what happens between now and then. again, i don't think we're going to see much by way of imaginative or major compromise by either side before then.

>> the table is rickety. the table is not very large, but the table has a lot of steaks on it. robert reich, professor at the university of california, berkeley. thank you for talking to us. >> thanks. gary. >> one thing people may not be spending money on no matter what happens with the fiscal cliff, twinkies. hostess announced yesterday it's shutting down twinkie operations. and right after that, twinkie sales shot up -- this is amazing -- 31,000% on amazon. a lot of people are feeling nostalgic about the tasty treat. >> following a nasty labor dispute and almost a year in bankruptcy, hostess brands is closing its 33 bakeries more than 500 distribution centers and selling off its assets, putting the future of the 82-year-old twinkie in question. it's been a long road for the cream filled pastry now a part of the american lexicon. >> it's twinkie the kid.

>> wow! >> the twinkie was born in 1930 in illinois. the inventor was looking for a way to use the continent al baking company's seasonal strawberry pans year round. he came up with a sponge cake filled with banana. during world war ii, it was forced to change to vanilla filling and it never changed back. in the 1950s, the howdy du y du show foechsed on twinkies. in the 1980s, the ghost busters movie used twinkies. in the 1990s, there was a presidential endorsement as bill clinton included a twinkie in the millennium time capsule, and in the youtube age, we have seen

the twinkie put to the test for shelf life, toughness, and microwavability. but now the twinkie needs someone to come to its rescue or we'll have to say good-bye to the twinkie for good. cnn, new york. >> thank you very much, allison. >> the blistering attacks between israel and gaza are stoking fears of an all-out war. just ahead, a high-ranking member of the palestinian legislative counsel joins me to give us her thoughts on the crisis and what she thinks could fifu diffuse the situation. having you ship my gifts couldn't be easier.

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that's a step forward. with chase quickpay, you can send money directly to anyone's checking account. i guess he's a kicker... again, again! oh, no you don't! take a step forward and chase what matters. fresh air strikes in gaza inflict heavy damage and more casualties. at least 11 people killed in israeli rocket strikes saturday, raising the number of people killed in four days of back and forth rocket attacks to 42. >> air sirens wailed for a third straight day in israel's largest city of tel aviv after hamas

fired a rocket to the city. the rocket was intercepted. israeli soldiers are massing near the border, raising the spether of a possible ground war. i had a conversation with a spokesman for the israeli government. i asked him what he thought might be different now from the last conflict in gaza in 2008. that was a conflict that didn't seem to have a clear victory for either side. >> i think we have learned our lessons and we understand we have to put the pressure on hamas and we have to at the same time tell the palestinians in gaza you're not our enemy. we have no quarrel with our gaza civilian population. our problem is with the terrorists shooting the rockets into israel. in many ways we see the people of gaza also as a victim of this terrible taliban-type regime. you think governing in gaza, they would be interested in

better jobs and education, but no. they're a brutal dictatorship and said let's do jihad against israel. that's not in anyone's interest. >> i want to bring in a member of the executive committee of the plo and she's on the palestinian legislative council. she joins me from washington. thank you for joining me. >> my pleasure, gary. good to be with you. >> you heard what israeli spokesman had to say there. what's your reaction to what he had to say? >> it's very, very cynical. gaza is the most densely populated area in the world and you have already placed it under siege for years now. the control is very big military control, crossing points, borders, territorial borders and they shoot and bomb and shell at will. and of course the victims are laely if not entirely civilians. men, women, children. over 205 children have been injured, and these are 35 of

them babies. out of the 42 killed, mainly women and children. and there are no military people killed after the targeted assassinations. so enough with the spin and trying to present themselves as angels protecting the civilians. the israeli military is using gaza as target practice. they have been shooting, firing at will, and they want the palestinians of gaza to lie down and die quietly. this is absolutely incredible. it's cruel. it's a human tragedy, and israel has to be held accountable. gary, that's the problem. so far, israel has acted with full impunity, has never been held accountable, and then it turns around and prendz it's the victim, blaming the real victim while the occupation is the real cause. you cannot enslave a people, you cannot hold a whole nation of people captive. you cannot shoot and fire alwill

and expect people to tell you this is what you need to do. we need intervention. >> you are an eloquent spokeswoman. you love your people and that's very obvious and very important. but as you well know, hundreds of rockets have been fired from gaza into southern israel the first ten and a half months of this year. the israeli government says s75. if rockets were fires from mexico and el paso, texas, or from quebec or cuba into florida, i'm not the president of the united states, but this country will quickly retaliate. what do you expect the nation of israel to do? >> i agree, the problem is the u.s. is not occupying mexico. it's not occupying any latin american -- it's not occupying cuba. the problem is israel is occupying gaza and the west bank. it is occupying palestine.

therefore, when they want to provoke and use a cycle of violence, and this is cynical because whenever there are elections in israel, we know the palestinians will pay the price. there's immediately a military escalation because netanyahu wants to make it a security issue, not a peace issue. >> but i'm asking you, what do you think israel should have been doing, letting the rockets fall? >> no, no, i think israel should have gone to the negotiating table for the last 21 years we have been negotiating and israel has been expanding settlements, has been acting with full impunity, as i said, instead of complying with the requirements of peace, it's been expanding its unilateralism and has victimizing the palestinians and has provoked violence. if you want to stop the violence, you deal with the causes. you deal with the occupation itself. you let the palestinian people go. you recognize our right. we in the west bank, there

hasn't been any violence, but at the same time, israel has taken over and ethnically cleansed jerusalem. they have built an apartheid wall, and why? if israel is interested in ending this lethal situation, it has to end its occupation, its oppression of a whole nation. you cannot just complain when your victims strike back. i don't approve of violence, but i don't approve of any violence. i don't approve of the strongest army in the region shelling and firing and shooting and killing civilians and then blaming the victim of a few projectiles and these are projec tectilprojectie not the bombs on the f-15s israels uses. >> i'm wondering if president abbas and you and other members

think don't do this, it's not helping the palestinian people. >> we have been trying, exactly. we have tried through peace, through noexati ationegotiation every possible way. but israel knows how to provoke. it wasn't hamas that started the latest escalation of violence. hamas has been striking at those who were violating the cease fire between israel and hamas. hamas has acted, as many people said, in a way to give israel security against the other extremist groups in gaza. now israel, of course, is going back to branding hamas as terrorists. why did israel have to go back? why did they kill the 12-year-old boy? why did they shell funeral camp tent? why did they assassinate people. they can push hamas's buttons the moment they assassinated the military negotiator, they knew

they were provoking hamas. let's put things in proper perspective and let israel stop whining and stop talking about itself as victim and get rid of the legal occupation and go back to leaving in good neighborly relations as opposed to a free for all and a testing ground for its weapons. >> it's sad and a pitiful history that continues on. we thank you very much for joining us on our program. >> my pleasure, gary. >> many never dream superstorm sandy would be as bad as it was. so some let their pets behind. now a rescue effort is under way to help those who can't help themselves and how you can help. [ male announcer ] a european-inspired suspension, but not from germany. ♪ a powerful, fuel-efficient engine, but it's not from japan. ♪

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cabinet building in the gaza strip. also other government buildings and a police compound. palestinians official say 11 people have been killed on saturday. that brings the death toll since wednesday to 42. israel said it's mobilizing 32,000 troops on the border of gaza. that's a nation of 8 million people so that's a lot of troops, so far, no ground invasion has been launched of yet. hamas militants are taking responsibility for shelling parts of tel aviv today. israel says there was one hamas rocket that was shot there and blocked by its missile defense system. the death toll in israel stands at three. nick is following the latest developments. what have you been learning? >> we have been learning together this story has taken a grim turn and we have been monitoring every nuance coming out of israel. we have created a special disk for our viewers with middle eastern experts. i want to bring in youssef.

you heard from sara sidnor. she said hundreds of rockets have found them their way into israel. >> you can see the flair and trail a rocket fired from gaza into israel. it's not just affecting the israeli territories. palestinian territories saying 830 targets have been hit. that's coming from the idf. i want to bring in ali. you have also been taking a look at the press conferences coming out of the middle east as well. you were in the translation booth a little while ago. tell me what you heard in the arab league presser. >> the arab league has held an emergency meeting in cairo to deal with specifically with gaza issue, and that's what the arab league secretary-general has mentioned and they talked about establishing delegation by the four administers of the links to

go into gaza and express their solidarity with the gaza people and re-evaluate the arab league position. >> we know that the leader of hamas has met with the prime minister of turkey and the amir of qatar. what other feeds are coming in here? what are you monitoring, taking a look at? >> of the arab channels, al jazeera, hamas television, our television based in gaza and a live around the clock coverage of reporting of their point of the view, their side of the story on this conflict. they take in also hebrew channels. they translate that to show the viewers the israeli positions and their admissions from their perspective of the missile attacks raining on them. >> we appreciate that insight. that's the latest from the international desk. we'll keep an eye on everything

coming into cnn. for now, back to you. >> thank you very much. you can get news anytime you want on cnn.com. and we're going to show you some stories that are trending as we speak. the u.n. says iran has made a significant advancement in its nuclear program with the completion of an underground uranium enrichment facility. >> a late moment at the white house. president obama wished house speaker john boehner a happy birthday. the president said he didn't know how many candles they would need for speaker boehner's birthday. he gave him an expensive bottle of wine instead. the speaker turned 63 years old today. >> a new york businessman said tampa, florida, socialite jill kelley asked him for an $80 million deal. those are some of the stories trending as we speak on cnn.com.

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an astronaut flies on two missions into space, then gets diagnosed with the devastating brain disease. but as our dr. sanjay gupta reports in this week's human factor, that did not stop him from getting in the space shuttle a third time. gr for most of us, this vus is the closest we'll ever get to ter space, but it's this view richard clichered has had three times. when he blasted aboard space in

1972, in 1994, and on atlantis in 1996. as he flew his last shuttle mission, he was carrying a secret. he had recently been diagnosed with parkinson's disease. >> i didn't really have any symptoms other than my right arm didn't swing naturally when i walked. >> he had just had his annual physical, been given a clean bill of health, and then he was sent to a neurologist. >> he looked at me for five minutes and said you have parkinson's disease. nasa doctors cleared him and nine months later, he was heading back into space aboard "atlant "atlantis." >> my left arm is swinging, my right arm is swinging there. the symptoms didn't go away, but it didn't nrlt fear with my job. >> only the shuttle commander

knew. >> trav traveling over 6 miles per hour. >> with that flight came a once in a lifetime opportunity. a six-hour space walk. >> fantastic. doing a space walk is a privilege and something every astronot searches for. >> for years, the stiffness in his arm was the only symptom, then three years ago, the trembling began followed by the head bobbing. last year, 17 years after being diagnosed, he finally went publ public. now he travels the country raising awareness about the disease, and he said it helps to talk about it. >> i encourage people to not let it get you down. live life to the fullest. you have to keep focused on what it is you want to do in life. and proceed down that path. nothing should hold you back. >> dr. sanjay gupta, cnn,

reporting. >> dr. gupta will also be exploring a growing problem in the united states, prescription drug overdoses. you can see the cnn special deadly dose tomorrow night, 8:00 eastern time. spielberg's lincoln opens to rave reviews. our movie critic talked to the stars. she's also going to rate the best lincoln movies of all time. >> leave the constitution alone. >> i know. i'm will,

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historical film "lincoln" hit theaters this weekend. grae drake is here to give us her review. she will also rate some other popular lincoln civil war films. grae, welcome. nice to see you again. >> likewise. >> we want to start before you hear anything from you, we want to start giving our viewers a look, a clip from the movie, and from your interviews with the cast. let's watch. >> steps out on the world stage now with the fate of human dignity on our hands. blood's been stipilled to affor

us this moment now, now, now. >> lincoln was a very complex man, but he followed simple ideals. >> he had to really wheel and deal. and he had his moments of hypocrisy and he had his moments of being a politician. >> you fail to acquire the necessary votes, you will answer to me. >> i was a little sheepish that i had never thought of what mary todd lincoln went through in our nation's history. >> she's one of the most underexamined, misunderstood, maligned, very maligned and important women characters in history, in american history certainly, had there not been a mary todd, there wouldn't have been an abraham lincoln. >> what is your review of the movie? >> unbelievable film. this isn't even my chosen genre of picture and i was riveted.

so daniel day-lewis is a name that we're going to keep hearing for the next three months because he brings lincoln to life in a way that is really unique. i have never really considered that lincoln might be that kind of person, the way he speaks and his mannerisms, and he's so funny in the movie that i mean, i really enjoyed getting to know this man i have been taught for a really long time is one of the most important people in american history. and i loved it. it made me really patriotic and also, because i don't think they sugar coated this version. he had to work to get the 13th amendment to abolish slavery passed, but he had to wheel and deal, and he's a politician through and through. and he really believed in something. he had to stand up for it and he had to do some things that maybe he would have preferred not to, but they handled that subject perfectly, and there's so many great performances, it would take me too long to list it all. even though it's not going to be

number one at the box office this weekend thanks to "twilight" it's going to be number one at the academy awards. >> so grae, what is "lincoln's" tomato meter score. >> certified fresh, 98%. you have to see it to believe it. it's 2 1/2 hours, but it's well spent. >> one of the things that is so interesting is i have never thought of abraham lincoln as funny. there's no funny video of the man because it was the 1800s, but you think of him as a serious guy, but you're saying he was humorous in the movie. >> he was. you think of lincoln as being this, i don't know, like a statue basically because he is iconic and he absolutely wasn't. that's something sally field and i talked about, mary todd lincoln always telling him to stop telling jokes. the more things change, the more they stay the same with wives.

>> let's take a look. sally field must be great, too. let's take a look at other lincoln civil war movies which have been successful and which have been major flops. >> well, "young mr. lincoln" is one we can begin with. that stars hollywood legends as american legends. henry fonda plays this man. this movie is from 1939. and it's about how lincoln got started as a lawyer. and he defends two men who are wrongfully accused of murder, and again, standing up for what he believes in and for what's right when it's very unpopular. this film is nominated for an academy award, so you can't go wrong with it. if it is good enough for the library of congress and preservation in our national film registry, it's good enough for us. >> what's next? >> the next one is a movie that really hit me hard when i first saw it. i was younger and really unaware of what people went through when

they're serving our nation. "glory" is the next pick starring denzel washington and matthew brodrick. it's about the 54th massachusetts volunteer infantry that was one of the first official infantries to have all african-american members and they were led by colonel shaw played by matthew brodrick in a surprisingly serious role. everybody knows him as ferris bueller, but his acting chops reach far beyond that, and denzel won his first academy award for this picture. seeing it is a who's who in hollywood, but it's also so amazing and powerful and i swear to you when i first saw this movie, my eyes were as big as saucers. i never forgot it. >> i was going to say, don't swear at me, whatever you do. no swearing on our air today. this leads me to the final thing. you may want to swear at this, unconventional movie "vampire hunter." >> this one is going to be the

completely nonserious pick. he's fighting vampires and it was only a matter of time before he humanized lincoln like this. the only vampires that are going to be slain by lincoln is when the award season comes up. lincoln has an ax and he's taking people down, well, taking vampires down, i should say. i can't believe i'm actually saying this, but i wish that it was crazier than it actually was. it had a little bit too much integrity for me, and i wanted it to be a little more exploitative, i know, but it's a fun movie that completely rewrites history. i hope that doesn't confuse our nation's youth. >> need to write the man ucrypt for the exployitative lincoln. >> grindhouse lincoln. i think it's going to happen. >> we'll look for that coming up. thanks for joining us.

i want all our folks watching to remember you can get more from drae drake at rottentomatoes draum. >> many never dreamed that hurricane sandy would be as bad as it was so some let their pets stay behind. find out about the rescue effort under way to help the pets who can't help themselves. i look at her, and i just want to give her everything. yeah, you -- you know, everything can cost upwards of...[ whistles ] i did not want to think about that.

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the red cross has raised $145 million for victims of the superstorm known as sandy. that's got to be some comfort for all those still suffering. we have been telling a lot of their stories. but there are other victims, smaller victims of the storm that haven't gotten as much attention and certainly don't have a voice. now two groups are helping the pets. guardians of rescue and detroit dog rescue are searching hard-hit storm areas to find pets that were left behind. homes are marked to let the owners know where the pets are being taken once they're rescued. if the pets are not claimed, they will be put up for adoption. more ahead at "newsroom

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you're in the "cnn newsroom." i'm gary tuchman in today for fredricka whitfield. an israeli air strike blows opthe gaza cabinet building in

the strip. it's the third day of pounding in the crisis in the region. this follows the track of one of its navy missiles and says what they say is a hamas building. they say so far today 11 palestinians have been killed. a hamas rocket aimed for tel aviv was intercepted. for a second time, air raid sirens sounded in that city. world leaders are calling for both sides to stop. fearing a repeat of the 2008 war that left 1400 people dead, mostly palestinians. israel says it is mobilizing as many as 30,000 troops. stay with us, a live report from the israel/gaza border is just moments away. p po makes history this weekend with a three-nation tour of asia. the president, as we speak, is

on his way to thailand, but it's the second leg of the tour that makes this trip most historic. he's visiting myanmar, something no u.s. president has done before. he wraps up his oversees trip in cambod cambodia. he'll return the summit before returning on wednesday. >> rescue crews are looking for two crew members missing after an oil rig exploded in the gulf of mexico. 11 people were injured, fortunately it was a small oil spill into the water, only 28 gallons into the gulf. the fire is out, but federal authorities are investigating the incident. >> if you're a twinkie fan, you better get to your local grocery store and do it fast. just hours after twinkie's maker hostess declared it would shut down for good, grocery stores nationwide are seriously experiencing a run on twinkies. and the company's other iconic products. so i gzingers and cupcakes and hohoes and everything else

left over. >> what did you stock up on? >> a little bit of everything for the kids. some chocolate twinkies, scary cakes, mini muffins, cinnamon bread. >> i ate a lot of twinkies in my time. anyway, twinkies merchandise is also hot on ebay. a lunch box started off at $14.90 a week ago. yesterday, someone bid $699 for it after word the company was closing down. >> the fiscal cliff 45 days away and come new year's day, america could face a $7 trillion nightmare. a series of tax increases and major spending cuts will go into effect unless the white house and capitol hill reach a deal. president obama meeting with congressional leaders yesterday but details of any deal are unclear. democrats want to increase income tax rates on the rich. republicans prefer closing loopholes and eliminating

deductions. >> in the middle east, rockets flying and the number of casualties is mounting. our colleague ben wedeman is on the border between israel and gaza. thanks for joining us. we're hearing 30,000 troops are waiting near the border. another 7,000 reservists are being called up. are you seeing evidence that a full-on assault might beeft. >> a lot of armor is on the move. trank tra tank transporters are all around the area. armored carriers as well. there does seem to be an amount of urgency in the deployment of forces around the gaza strip. we saw the iron dome anti-missile system in action. we saw a series of bright lights coming up from the horizon just in front of me and overhead exploding in midair, as we assume that is one of those anti-missile missiles hitting

the rockets coming out of gaza. we also saw a large blast on the horizon behind me, which of course is the gaza strip itself. so certainly all indications are that israel is preparing for a large ground inkurgz into gaza. however, it's clear they have yet to make a final decision on when or even if that's going to happen. gary. >> you know, ben, that iron dome is really a game changer. remember the beginning of the gulf war in 2003, they had an earlier version and it changed things, too. it's really such an interesting piece of weaponry israel has. israel has targeted hamas political headquarters and all but flattened it, we understand. any indication if they have managed to disable the hamas leadership at all? >> no, they did assassinate the head of the military wing of hamas, and they have targeted and successfully hit several

other military leaders, but they haven't yet gone after the political leadership of the hamas movement in gaza. their officials, for instance, the prime minister of the hamas authority in gaza, has appeared in public several times already. now, just a few days ago at the beginning of this operation, israeli, one israeli official put out on their twitter account that any hamas leader or operative had better keep his head down and stay hidden in the coming days. but as yet, they're targeting the infrastructure, but we understand that almost all of those buildings have been completely evacuated, as they always are when there are high tensions between israel and the hamas authority in gaza. so yes, they're destroying the buildings, but i can tell you back in 2009 when i went in to gaza during the israeli

operation then, they destroyed a lot of those buildings that the government and gaza used, and after four years, they were rebuilt and now they're being destroyed again. gary. >> ben, a very important point. just after 10:00 on the israeli/gaza border. thank you for joining us. >> we have shown you rockets flying through the air. you have heard sounds of gunfire and air sirens warning of trouble. coming up, we'll take a closer look at the fire power involved in the conflict in gaza. and america's top spy has fallen from grace. just what is general petraeus' next move. >> plus a heartstopping car crash. neighbors rush to save a mother and her little girl trapped in this wreck. part of a whole new line of tablets from dell. it's changing the conversation. ♪

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there has been no let up in the fighting between israel and hamas militants in gaza. in fact, israel is now amassing troops and tanks near the gaza strip border. tom foreman takes a look at the fire power in place. >> let's look at how the battlefield is shaping up in the middle east. here is israel. it's about the size of new jersey. 7.5 million people. 75% jewish. the economy is good. unemployment below 7%. gaza by comparison geographically very small. only about twice as big as washington, d.c. predominantly palestinian, employment is very high. globalfirepower.com has called israel the tenth most powerful military in the world. let's see why. they have compulsory military service. that means every young person must go into the military for a while. 176,000 active troops are available. and they have about a half

million they can call up from reserves quickly. ground forces also impressive. some 3,000 tanks. if you count all of the artillery pieces and mortar, you get about 10,000 on the ground, and their air force is formidable, about 800 aircraft including 200 helicopters. this is largely what they have used to have the strikes within gaza. if you look at hamas, their forces are much smaller. if you look at people who are really in uniform, soldiers, police, whatever you want to call it, about 12,500. they have nothing like the weapons the israelis have. however, palestinian militants have lots and lots of rockets. i want to bring in a model of one of them here. this is a qassam 2. these are popular because they're cheap, easy to make out of steel tubes. they only weigh 70 to 100 pounds. and they're fueled essentially by commercial gradefortali fert

and can pack a punch. they're not very accurate, but if you fire a bunch, they don't have to be accurate. if you go to the larger missiles, you talk about range. we have reports of missiles traveling 50 miles to hit jerusalem and tel aviv. israeli officials believe a fifth of the population is subject to rocket attacks. that's something they will not tolerate and that's why we hear this talk and speculation of a ground invasion of gaza. >> tom, thank you very much. so far, that ground invasion has not happened, but there are plenty of new developments today. my colleague is at our international desk. what are you learning now? >> we have seen a crescendo of activity since wednesday. we have been monitoring all of the nuances of the story. i want to bring in two of our middle east experts here.

youssef and ali have been monitoring this situation from early this morning. parts of the palestinian territories have been leveled by these idf air strikes. you have one of the latest videos. let's take a look at it. >> this is a video our team shot in gaza. it shows clearly the explosion of the skyline of gaza city. >> so these are bombs being dropped by the idf on gaza? >> yes, out shelling. this is one of the sites the idf shelled today. >> this is one of the latest examples we're watching the clips as they come in. ali has also been simultaneously acting as an arabic translator and monitoring arabic tv and israeli tv. they said 240 rockets had been intercepted since november 14th from gaza into israel. you have been watching this as they have put out information. what do you know? >> yes, well, the idf have their

own twitter page and they have multiple accounts that covers the israeli government, the idf, the air force, and different agencies in israel. that's testimony to their savviness and sophistication in terms of decimating the message they want to put out to the outside world. for example, like you mentioned, while hamas said they have fired rockets, the idf counter that saying our iron dome interceptor -- >> that's part of the missile defense system. >> and 240 rockets out of the total that hamas fires into israel. >> thanks for the insight. the casualties mounting. over 42 kills in the palestinian territories, including nine today. that's the latest information from the international desk. take it from here. >> my thanks to all three of you. he was once revered and highly praised. when the former cia director said he had an affair with his

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former cia director david petraeus keeps on growing. petraeus resigned after admitting an affair with his biographer, paula broadwell. jill kelley who was a friend of the petraeus family said broadwell sent her threatening e-mails. then kelli asked a front to look into the e-mails. then it was revealed he sent her shirtless photos of himself. it sounds like a horrible movie, but it's all true. carol is a reporter at the washington post. thank you very much for joining us. >> happy to be here, gary. >> what do you know about agent fred rhumphries and why was he o motivated to investigate those e-mails. something like that should not and would not rise to an fbi probe? >> it's a great question, and what we found out was the way he was being described was really

inaccurate. people had initially reported and republican leaders had described him as a whistleblower who came forward, complaining to cantor, house majority leader cantor's office because he was worried the fbi investigation that uncovered an affair by the cia director david petraeus was stalled for political reasons. it was implied he was concerned about the progress of this case and worried about it being shelved improperly. what we found in our reporting is sources very close to humphries and aware of his account, briefed on his information, tell us quite a different story about the agent. he's a tampa agent who had a long-standing sort of social acquaintance with jill kelley, the woman in tampa. he basically forwarded some information to his tampa fbi colleagues about harassing e-mails that were more interesting than everyday harassing e-mails because they mentioned a four-star general. and that's it. he was making a casual remark to

a friend in his home state of washington. that information was passed along to a republican congressman in washington who then asked for mr. humphries, the fbi agent, to talk to the house majority leader about what he knew about petraeus. and what we're finding is were it not for fred humphries making this offhand remark, it may have come to pass that general petraeus may have never resigned or not resigned this quickly. >> so fascinating. through your reporting, how do you characterize jill kelley's relationship with general petraeus, his wife, and the tampa military community? >> it's got a lot of eyes rolling around the country because jill kelley and her husband were sort of tampa fixtures. they had a beautiful home on bay shore boulevard, the best block you could be on. and they used their good fortune, they said, to repay the military for all its services by

hosting really, really lovely parties with caviar and open bars and tours of their humidor, but for the military brass in the nearby air force base where general petraeus was the commander and general allen after him was the commander, the eye rolling is because they sort of insinuated themselves into the center of military brass and made themselves critical hosts, key friends and supporters. and that kindness was welcome, but it also created odd bed fellows, no pun intended. >> that does indeed sound like a pun. quickly, what's next for petraeus? >> you know, that is a very burning issue for lots of reporters. and i'm sure for the military and for the obama administration. the investigation, the federal investigation of how paula broadwell, his mistress, obtained all this classified

information, all be it right now what we know is a pretty low level of classified information. how did she obtain it. did general petraeus give it to her. did he mishandle classified information is the central question and how that is answered will decide his fate. >> carol, thank you for joining us. >> thank you, gary. >> in today's welcome home segment, a u.s. marine who struggled to readjust to civilian life when he returned from iraq finds a way back to normal. he did it through ballet. he tells his story in his own words. >> i'm romonbaca. i'm a u.s. marine, iraq veteran. i'm also the director of the dance company. i started dancing at a smaller studio. that led to transitioning to larger studios. >> make sure your fingers are

articulating. >> as typical american, i took a lot of things for granted. i wanted to see if i could do something totally different than being an artist. had something to prove to myself and i wanted to help my country so i joined the marine corps. we were called to deploy to fallujah, iraq. we got back in 2006, six months later, my girlfriend sat me down and said you're not okay. you're not the same person i knew before the war. good you cou if you could really do anything in the world, what would you do? and beautiful. i had this interesting choreography. i would start a dance company. it wasn't a primary goal to talk about the military, but it just wasn't me not to put that part of myself into that work. and then she goes. and you pull back. the whole tie-in is extremely important. and it's allowed us to do

community service outreach to veterans. >> imagine all of the sadness and the grief of the hero who isn't true. >> warrior writers is a group of military veterans who write about their experiences. >> you can't handle the truth. >> we brought together a group of veterans. they were skeptical in the beginning, as was i. but in the end, they were so emphatic about giving their stuff and seeing how it came together in movement. >> your life after death and message lives on. >> i get up every morning and i again like when i was in the marine corps, know that i'm making a difference in somebody's life. >> nice job. yeah. >> i didn't go to iraq with 60 marines that just wanted to go down and level a city. i went with 60 marines that wanted to improve a city, so why would it stop overseas?

>> i have two daughters who are ballerinas so i really appreciate that man. in addition to his work with veterans, he has worked with students in new york city and in iraq to teach them how to use dance to express their feelings. in 45 days, america could fall over the figurative cliff, a $7 trillion cliff. money expert ben stein has ideas on how to avoid it. >> and what would you do if you saw this crash in front of your house. without a second thought, neighbors rushed to save a little girl and her mom who were trapped in the wreck. ♪

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an israeli air strikes blows up the cabinet building in gaza. it's part of a pounding gaza continues to get in the third day of bombing in the region. take a look at this video. it follows the track of one of its navy missiles as it hits what they say is a hamas

building. so far today, 13 palestinians have been killed. no deaths in israel reported today. >> for a second time air raid sirens sounded in israel's largest city. world leaders are calling for both sides to stop, fearing a repeat of the 2008 war that left 1400 people dead, mostly palestinians. israel says it is mobilizing as many as 30 do,000 troops near t border. they're sending support for the palestinians. >> victims of the aurora movie theater massacre will soon get compensation. donors sent in over $5 million. the fund's special master decides who gets how much. the fund was established by colorado's governor and by a local charity. >> take a look at the surve

surveillance video. a crash so loud neighbors heard it in their homes. one of those neighbors jumped into action when he hueard it. he said the scene wreaked of gas, he feared they could explode at any minute, but he heard a small child crying. >> i found a little baby just hanging in her car seat, and that got my attention immediately. i had to work with her. >> he's a hero. he crawled inside, got the little girl out of her seat and carried her to safety. another neighbor helped rescue the girl's mother who was knocked unconscious. believe it or not, everyone involved in the crash suffered minor injuries. >> we're just 45 days from the $7 trillion fiscal cliff. no new deals were cut friday between the president and congressional leaders. a series of tax cuts will go into effect on january 1st unless a deal is reached. earlier this week, fredricka whitfield spoke with ben stein,

economist and author of the new book "how to really ruin your financial life and portfolio." they talked about his main concerns for ifithe fiscal clif. >> i would be worried about the cuts in defense. we live in an extremely challenging world. i would hate to see the u.s. cut even one dollar in defense. >> we're talking about compromise because you mentioned two things the opposite sides don't really want. >> i know they don't want it. >> the president saying it's solvable. quote, i'm confident it can be done. i recognize we will have to compromise, period. the operative word, compromise. are we going to see that this go-around? >> i'm not sure if we're going to see it this go around, we may have to go over the fiscal cliff for a while. even with the fiscal cliff, we'll still have a budget deficit next year on the order

of $5 billion. one of the five largest of all time. we have to go even fartherthen infiscal cliff in terms of raising taxes. i hate it. i hate paying taxes. i don't like paying taxes, but we've got to do it. mr. obama is not right. i'm not a fan of mr. obama, i didn't vote for him, but he's right. it's not complex arithmetic, we have to get more money in the system. >> he said that, there were people who agreed with the approach even though they didn't agree with him. >> i think the republicans have a decision today. they need to decide whether they're going to stay and protect the wealthiest americans from participating in this challenge that we have and if they do that, then we have no other choice but to go into next year when all of the bush tax cuts expire and start over. i don't want to do that. i don't think we should do that, but that's what they could force us to do. >> your response to that. >> i think we may very well have

to do that and i don't understand for the life of me why the republican party to which i have belonged a lot longer than most of the people in congress, is so adamant about protecting the wealthiest people in the country. most of those people are democrats, anyway. we have to get more tax revenue. in my neighborhood, many people have twoory three or four bentleys. do you think it will hurt them a lot to have one less bentley. we can tax the rich more. it's not going to hurt them. it's not going to hurt the economy. >> what do you say about the sentiment that some say so we go off the fiscal cliff. it won't be that bad. >> it will be very bad for defense. my main interest is in defending the united states of america, and i'm worried if we go off the fiscal cliff and we have to drastically cut procurement of the number of people in the armed services, we'll be in terrible trouble if they're needed. >> thank you very much. after their meeting friday, leaders of the republican

controlled house and democratic controlled senate suggested an agreement could be reached and they suggested it, but it could be reached before the end of the year deadline. we'll see what happens. >> billionaire warren buffett tells poppy harlow why he isn't afraid to fall off the fiscal cliff, and who he wants to see in the white house four years from now. to [ knock on door ] cool. you found it. wow. nice place. yeah. [ chuckles ] the family thinks i'm out shipping these. smooth move. you used priority mail flat rate boxes. if it fits, it ships for a low, flat rate. paid for postage online and arranged a free pickup. and i'm gonna track them online, too. nice. between those boxes and this place, i'm totally staying sane this year. do i smell snickerdoodles? maybe. [ timer dings ] got to go. priority mail flat rate boxes. online pricing starts at $5.15. only from the postal service. bp has paid overthe people of bp twenty-threeitment to the gulf. billion dollars to help those affected and to cover cleanup costs.

today, the beaches and gulf are open, and many areas are reporting their best tourism seasons in years. and bp's also committed to america. we support nearly 250,000 jobs and invest more here than anywhere else. we're working to fuel america for generations to come. our commitment has never been stronger. [ gordon ] for some this line is a convenience. how you doing today? i'm good thanks. how are you? i'm good. [ gordon ] but for others, it's all they can afford. every day nearly nine million older americans don't have enough to eat. anything else? no, not today. join me, aarp, and aarp foundation in the drive to end hunger by visiting drivetoendhunger.org. on gasoline. i am probably going to the gas station about once a month.

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have been hearing so much about. there's a lot of pressure on congress to do something so we can avoid the tax hikes and spending cuts set to kick in on january 1st, 2013, 6 1/2 weeks

away. but billionaire warren buffett is not alarmed. he talked with our poppy harlow. >> hi there. we had a chance to sit down with investor warren buffett here for an exclusive interview at her headquarters in omaha, nebraska. we had a wide ranging conversation, but top of mind, of course, was the fiscal cliff. interestingly, warren buffett is not as alarmist about the fiscal cliff as many others at this point in time. i want you to take a listen to what he told me. what is the likelihood of the united states falling into a recession if we go over the cliff? >> i don't think that's going to happen. i think that if we go past january 1st, i don't know whether it will be january 10th or february 1st, but we're not going to permanently cripple ourselves because 535 people can't get along. >> even if we go over for two months, uz does that dip this economy back into recession? >> i don't think so. >> you don't think so. that's interesting because the cbo believes that.

>> well, we had hurricane sandy which disrupted the economy for a period. we had katrina many years ago. there are things that will disrupt the economy. 9/11 was an extraordinary case, but we have a very resilient economy. we've had one for hundreds of years. and the fact that they can't get along for the month of january is not going to torpedo the economy. >> of course, we also discussed taxes. warren buffett has been out front, talking about how he believes wealthy americans should pay more in maxes. we wanted to know how much more, specifically when it comes to capital gains taxes. >> we prospers with capital gains rates more than double what they are currently. >> we would be fine with 30 pest capital gains? >> sure. >> what about income taxes? >> they were revised 90% in my lifetime. very few people got up there, but i saw lots of people paying

federal tax rates of 50%. and they went to work every day. >> so at this point, there's no level you're -- >> i think they could be significantly higher. >> that puts warren buffett at odds with many other ceos who argue if you increase tax rates, you're going to stifle growth. a little political news for you. warren buffett telling us who he is indorsing for president in 2016. he thinks it should be a woman, saying it should be hillary clinton, saying there's no better candidate for the job. >> thank you for that report. >> stores are getting ready for black friday next week, but are you ready for the madness that black friday is. we'll shear must-have smartphone apps to avoid the crowds and score the best deals this holiday season. uh, i'm in a timeout because apparently

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with black friday right around the corner, everyone is looking to get the best deals of the season. our cnn money tech reporter put some holiday shopping smartphone apps to the test. >> reporter: it's officially holiday season, and there are a lot of ways you can use your smartphone to do more than just phone home. you can find a lot of great deals using your smartphone. we decided to test it out. we're here at toys "r" us to start our morning. we used an app called red laser to figure out where we could get a good price on one of the season's hottest toys, furby. find the item you're looking for and it will show you stores that carry it. $54, it matches what it said on the app. i can get it right here. just because your item is on the app doesn't mean it's in stock. so i just used red lacer to help me find something specific, but now i want to look for a good deal in my area, so i'm going to

open up an app called black friday and it shows me kmart has 745 coupons. let's test it out. so the black friday app showed a lot of discounted tvs. the first one is a tv for $88. here it is. lots of great deals on the black friday app, but the ads are mostly limited to major retailers. you won't fund local discounts. >> i'm using apps, especially kmart's to get the best deal. >> let's say we want to do comparison shopping. check out this dvd. it's $20. using an app, i'm going to take a picture and it's going to tell me the prices at the stores nearby. it's cheaper here. it works to tell you the best prices but it's limited to books, dvds, cdous, and video

games. here's my receipt and i'm probably going to get a lot othese in the holiday season. you can use an app called lemon and take a picture. this way i don't have to carry around all of that paper. so as we enter the competitive shopping season, your phone could be your edge. >> i don't have time to look through that many coupons. some stores are opening earlier on thanksgiving day. we expect them to be crowded. will there be apps to help navigate through the chaos that will ensue? >> sure. they're calling black thursday the new black friday. you have walmart and target, all these stores opening up early. it's going to be pretty chaotic, but stores are offering up virtual maps that map out the locations of virtual stores. i'm going to show you both walmart and target have different apps. you can find your local walmart,

your local target. you can take a look and see exactly where you're going in the store so when the doors do open up, you can say all right, i'm going to this specific aisle because this is what i'm looking for. all of these different apps are doing that. right now, you're looking at targets. this is going to be available in the next couple days. you can look ahead of time and see the different layout of the store near you. walmart has the same type of thing and walmart's is a little more in detail. let's say you're looking for the furby. you can type it in, it will show you the exact aisle, exact price and location. are you going to go and look at the layout of your local store any other day besides black friday? probably not, but when you have all these people rushing in, anything can be your competitive advantage. >> laurie, i'm going shopping with you. >> please. >> very interesting. thank you for joining us. for more high-tech ideas and reviews, go to cnn.com/tech. and look for the gaming and

gadgets tab. you can get news anytime you want on the web and here are some stories that are trending right now on cnn.com. black friday may not be a good friday for walmart. a group of walmart workers planning to stage a walk-out on black friday. that group is building on a strike from october that started in los angeles. guy fieri is firing back at the "new york times" food critic who panned his new restaurant. he called the review of guy's american kitchen and bar, quote, ridiculous. >> are you a wii fan? you know the next generation is almost here. the wii u comes out tomorrow. it plays moe of the original games, but this will have a 10 x 5 inch touch screen controller. that's what is trending on the web. >> she's a contender to be cnn's hero of the year. you're about to meet a woman who turned her son's drowning into a cause to protect other kids from suffering the same fate.

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one of the contenders, a mother who is trying to turn around the statistic. african-american children are three times more likely to drown than white children. sadly, wanda butts knows sadly what can happen. >> just went to spend the night with friends. i had no clue they were going to the lake. here is where josh was, where the raft capsized. and he went down. very hard for me to believe that just like that my son had drowned. they instilled in us the fear of water, so i, in turn, didn't take my son around water. children don't have to drown. my name is wandabutts, i save lives by providing swimming

lessons and safety skills. african-american children are three times more likely to drown than white children. that is why we started the josh project, to educate families about the importance of being water safe. >> take the ring, throw it right at the victim. >> many parents, they didn't know how to swim. he was afraid of the water, he was the first in my family to learn how to swim. and he has come a long way from not liking water in his face to getting dunked under. >> i'm so happy to see that so many of them have learned how to swim. good job! that is one life we save. it takes me back to josh, and how the tragedy was turned into triumph and it makes me happy. >> all right. >> cnn hero, wanda butts joins

me now, i am so sorry for your tragedy, and thank you for joining us today. >> thank you, glad to be here. >> can you describe the exact moment you decided to act on your son's death when you said i'm going to teach other kids to swim? >> it was after i realized that drowning was preventible, and that it is a terrible thing to be a parent and to lose your son to drowning. because it is preventible. so i wanted to help other mothers not have to suffer the way i do and will for the rest of my life from losing a child. so i said let's do something about this. because it is a problem, it is sort of like an epidemic. so we started the josh project from that to educate parents, families about the importance of their children knowing how to swim and knowing water safety so they would not drown. >> wanda, josh didn't know how

to swim because you yourself were never taught? >> i am still learning. i still take swimming lessons, in fact, saturdays is my day to take my lessons. but i have not learned how to swim yet, but i am determined to learn how to swim. because swimming -- it is a basic life skill and it looks like a lot of fun. and i want to know how to swim, and i think the biggest trip for me to give to my son would be my learning how to swim. and i want to do that. i will do that. >> wanda, why do you believe there is a lack of water safety education among some members of the minority community? >> why is there a lack? >> yes. >> i would say education, and awareness, which is what i would say about me, as the reason why i didn't know how important it

was for my son to know how to swim because no one were told me that. and i was just not aware of the statistics on drowning in our community. >> wanda, soon, cnn two weeks from now will award $250,000. what would you do with the money if you win? >> i would expand our program. and i would look towards -- bringing in more children so we could teach more children how to swim, and increasing the awareness of the importance of children knowing how to swim and water safety education, i would do that for our community. >> wanda butts, you are a true hero, what a wonderful tribute to your son, you're a good woman. >> thank you, very much. >> and i wish you the best, she

is just one of our top ten people who will become the cnn hero and receive a quarter of a million dollars. who will it be? go to cnn.com on your mobile device. you can vote up to ten times a day for the most inspirational hero. and a lot of questions on the veteran's parade tragedy in midland, texas, it is a rich, patriotic history, making the loss all the more tragic. two years ago, the people of bp made a commitment to the gulf. bp has paid over twenty-three billion dollars

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it is the top of the hour, you're in the cnn news room, i'm gary tuckman in today for fredricka whitfield. we start in the middle east with an israeli air strike has blown up the cabinet building in gaza city. it is one of the several targets hit in the third day of the crisis. take a look, this is from the israel defense forces, following the track of one of its navy missiles. and it hits what they say is a hamas building. in gaza today, they say 13 palestinians have died. no reports of deaths in israel today. but a hamas rocket aimed at tel aviv was intercepted. for the second time, air raids sounded in israel's largest

city. world leaders calling for both sides to stop, fearing a repeat of the 2008 war that left 1400 people dead, most of them were palestinian. israel says it is mobilizing as many as 30,000 troops right now. another 75,000 reservists have been put on standby. since the assassination of the hamas leader wednesday, they say 44 people have been killed in gaza, another 440 were wounded in air striking coming out of israel. cnn's sara sidner is there, live, it seems as though gaza has gotten pounded again, has tonight been the worst of what you have seen so far? >> reporter: it has not just yet. but it is very hard to tell, because usually the very strong blast from both the sea and the sky come from around 4:00 or 5:00 or 6:00 or 7:00 in the

morning, there are the wee hours where you start to notice the blasts. we noticed there were rockets going from here. because usually when you wake up and look in the sky and it is light, you can see the smoke chris-cross from the level of smoke in gaza, this has been a night very similar to what we've seen over the past several days when we arrived here. and that is the sound of drones in the air, which have been more constant today than we heard before. it is quite busy, we know there are several places hit, several buildings destroyed. we understand now from sources that there are three homes that have been hit. those homes may have been the homes of militants that were targeted by israel. but we know also that civilians have also suffered injuries and deaths here in gaza today, gary? >> sara, the arab league just

held an emergency meeting in the capital. what happened? and why is the meeting significant? >> reporter: the meeting is significant because we're talking about a lot of countries that are very nearby. and egypt, in particular, where they're having this meeting has been the mediator between israel and gaza in times past. we know that there have been real difficulties with the mediation, because there was an incident where the rockets were raining down on israel and israel responded with the air strikes and there was a reaction from the egyptians, where they decided they would take their ambassador out of israel. not a good sign for mediation. but we do understand there is some effort to start mediation on the potential cease-fire. now we're hearing from israel officials that they are not involved in any mediation. so there are conflicting reports about whether or not a mediation is happening. oftentimes, a lot of this stuff happens behind scenes trying to

stop what is looking like it will be a full-scale war with tens of thousands of troops on the border, waiting to see if a ground war is necessary, gary? >> sara, you have done great work, thank you for joining us. sara sidner reporting from gaza. and president obama makes history this weekend with a three-nation tour of asia. the president is on his way to thailand right now, but it is the second leg of his tour that makes this trip very unusual and historic. he is visiting median, something no u.s. president has done. the president will attend the east asia summit before returning to washington on wednesday. and january first won't only be new years day, it could be the day that america falls off the fiscal cliff if president and congress can't reach a deal on the budget. >> i fear that now we'll live

until at least 100. >> reporter: like many retired couples, he and his 86-year-old wife, joy, like a good debate. >> she is more optimistic. i think another five years. >> reporter: they're keeping closer tabs. >> i am scared. i'm just hoping for the best. >> reporter: the lawmakers are going back and forth on how to avoid the fiscal cliff. a series of tax increases and spending cuts set to take effect january 1st unless congress acts. >> i'm really worried about it. if they do this, as far as medicare i'm talking about, i don't know exactly what we would do. i mean, i've had cancer four times. >> reporter: so with the fiscal cliff comes cutbacks to medicare. >> if they don't reach any agreement, seniors could be affected if they are receiving medicare. and if their doctors become less willing to accept medicare as insurance, in view of the fact that the reimbursement that

medicare is providing is going to be less generous. >> reporter: but a deal to avert the crisis could also create problems for seniors. reforms through entitlement programs could be used as a trade-off for revenue increases. that means changes to social security, medicare and medicaid could be on the table. >> if they're more ambitious and they try to resolve the funding problems of the federal government over a longer span of time that is when i think senior citizens have more to worry about, because it becomes more inevitable through health insurance benefits and government pension benefits, are going to be scaled back. >> i really thought that the entitlements were here to stay. i thought they were a firm fixture of government. >> reporter: on friday, congressional leaders and the president displayed optimism. >> i feel confident that a solution may be in sight. >> we're prepared to put revenue on the table, provided we fix

the real problem. >> reporter: but this family says they will take the wait and see approach. >> who knows what is going to come out just because they're smiley doesn't mean that they're actually going to come to some sort of a compromise that would be okay with us. >> reporter: because the future is unknown, the family says they're watching their budget closely, even cancelling this year's vacation. gary? >> tory, thank you very much, we'll watch to see what happens. it is the end of an era in america, this time it is a favorite snack food many of us enjoy whether we admit it or not. the twinkie, hostess is closing down for good. and just hours after they declared the shutting of the company, grocery stores nationwide again experiencing a run on twinkies, a twinkie run. >> so i got zingers and

cupcakes. >> what did you stock up on? >> a little bit of everything for the kids, some chocolate twinkies, the scary cakes, mini muffins. >> and it is a twinkie run, there is a lunch box featuring twinkie the kid started off at $14.99 last week, and yesterday somebody bid $100 for it. and in midland texas, a tragedy, a community with a rich patriotic history. and that makes this loss all the more tragic. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] don't just reject convention. drown it out.

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there are a few people who start the new year with the ball drop in times square. but there are also a few people who flock to a tiny town in north carolina for the annual possum drop, that is right, possum, a real one, but this could be a different celebration since a judge is now nixing the tradition. let's bring in our legal guys, richard herman, a new york criminal defense attorney and law professor joins us from las vegas, nevada. gentlemen, thank you very much. this is not the most serious story we have but it did go to court.

that is why it is a legal story. >> well, if you're a possum, it is. >> and also if you're peta, first of all the owner has hosted the possum, in a town about hundred miles west of asheville in north carolina. and it involves trapping the possum in a cage and lowering it. now the judges seemed to not -- using a wild possum, the judge ordered them to release or kill the animal. that is the weird irony. so peta sued for the treatment of animals. it sounds funny, but there is a legal issue involved. >> i actually feel bad for the possum, i think the north carolina department of wildlife made up a permit so they could issue this to mr. logan. and i think the administrative law judge who wrote an 18-page

opinion, among other things, patrick henry. was right. there is no right to capture or hold a wild animal. so at the end of the day no possum drop there unless the estate legislature changes the law, i don't think that is going to happen. >> who is timmy the guerilla? >> actually, he passed away this year, was in the bronx zoo. and they were concerned about whether or not he was procreating enough, we were able to show he was not. >> in law school? >> i never dreamed i would be doing this. >> what do you think about this, to take it seriously. what is the difference between a possum being lowered and a person going in a ferris wheel and going in circles, what is the difference? >> well, it is ridiculous, the judge said give me liberty or give me death. and that is basically what is at stake for this possum. clay can go out and get a gun

and kill the possum, but he can't capture the possum, drop him on new years and release him. that is ridiculous, as paul moony said, let's be real. why can't he capture it, release it and it is the end of the story there? because peta says the fireworks and the large crowd agitate the pos possum, therefore, we want have that. >> just so you know, we're going to have a unique type of drop. i'll keep it a secret, but i'll tell you, richard and avery, it is not a possum, and i'll leave it there. gentlemen, thank you for joining us today. and don't forget you can catch the legal guys every saturday at noon and 4:00 eastern right here on cnn. there are a lot of questions today about how a freight train slammed into a parade float carrying wounded veterans and their families.

four army vets were killed. the horrifying accident happened thursday in midland texas, during the hunting event. police say the last two floats in the parade were flat-bed trucks carrying the vets and their spouses. the first made it across the train trucks but the second did not and was hit by the train. the city of midland said 26 people were on the train, some were able to jump off before the crash. the tragedy is admitting the town hard. >> my job -- my job was taking care of soldiers. and i didn't get to do that. >> they were blocks away from where they were supposed to be. they say it occurred -- minutes could have changed the outcome of this. and -- just hard to deal with. >> it is so terrible, the

question now, how did this happen? union pacific says the crossing gates and warning lights were working, and the train sounded the horn before the crash. they want to know how fast the train was going. the camera on board can help the investigation. and finding out why harlem's churches are a very popular stop for tourists. i did not want to think about that. relax, relax, relax. look at me, look at me. three words, dad -- e-trade financial consultants. so i can just go talk to 'em? just walk right in and talk to 'em. dude, those guys are pros. they'll hook you up with a solid plan. they'll -- wa-- wa-- wait a minute. bobby? bobby! what are you doing, man? i'm speed dating! [ male announcer ] get investing advice for your family at e-trade.

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. when you think popular tourist stops, in new york city you think times square, empire state building, statue of liberty. but you can also add to that list harlem churches. >> reporter: the gospel choir had the church members on their feet, singing, hands waving, an

inspirational scene on any given sunday in black churches. but this is harlem, and you will see the black church here changing. >> definitely very inspiring, i'll come back. >> reporter: tourists, many european, have been packing the pews of harlem churches in increasing numbers. michael adams specializes in the harlem history. >> i thought of it initially as something bad. but i say, i realized it is to be able to know each other better and learn more about each other. >> reporter: there is not just white tourism. it may be a reflection of something greater. do you see the identity of harlem changing? >> well, i think demographically, you would have to see there is a change. the harlem of my youth when i would come to harlem, it doesn't look the same. >> reporter: statistics show the

number of whites and blacks out-pacing the numbers coming to harlem. >> you will see the people nonafrican-americans, who are were whites, tourists, who came to the community and wanted to find a place to have a transformative encounter with god. >> reporter: the changing face in harlem, still being moved by the age-old gospel. jason carroll, cnn, new york. who is black in america? is being black determined by the color of your skin, by society, or is it something else? cnn's soledad o'brien has more interesting questions on discrimination and race. "who is black in america," only on cnn. a good will donation turns into a great opportunity for art lovers. recognize these skillful

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you can get news any time you want on cnn.com, and here are some stories trending on cnn.com right now. victims of the aurora, colorado massacre will soon get monetary compensation. do door -- doors sent money for the relief. ditka, who coached the chicago bears, won in 1986, the bears fans will never forget that. he says he is fine, not a big deal. and salvador dali picture

found this week. the signed artwork was dropped off by an unidentified donor and now is being auctioned off on a website, those are the stories trending on cnn.com. and understanding the conflict between the palestinian-israeli conflict. >> yeah, before we go here i wanted to pull out and help us get a big picture look at the millions who are impacted by what we're seeing by this violence and who could be affected. let's look at this map here, let's start here, you're taking a look at gaza and israel, we'll zoom in here to gaza, what you will see here, the area of gaza is only about twice the size of washington, d.c. in that area, the population is about 1.7 million people. and so it is pretty dense in many areas. we'll zoom some this area, which is gaza city. you can tell from the aerial

shots. it is a dense area, with terrorist infrastructure, a lot of people in goefrz concerned about the safety. and israel, you have a population of 7.6 million people throughout israel. and what we have heard, israel about the size of new jersey again to put it in person purpo -- perspective. millions have lived with a daily threat of rocket attacks coming in from gaza, and what they're talking about now is that the rockets are going farther and farther. we saw one in tel aviv in this area here, israel saying millions of people can now be impacted and affected. this is an example of another city hurt by that area. there are dense populations in those areas that hamas rockets can now apparently reach to. keep in mind, talking about

this, the west bank is run by fatah, whereas gaza is run by hamas, we're hearing the world leaders talking about the impact on the larger region. what we're seeing here is a reminder of countries surrounding this. one of the most important here is egypt, egypt dealing with upheaval, as you know, battling militant militants up near gaza, you also have jordan here, and jordan in recent days has had clashes in which protesters upset about the economy have actually been taking on the king, which is very unusual. finally, you have lebanon, one major official killed in a bombing, and up to the north, as you know we have been covering the syrian civil war. so obviously, a violent region and a lot of people